Abstract: This system is designed to eliminate the dead spot and enable the user to gain an increased stroke power, thus also increasing the speed of the bicycle. It is composed of a pair of crank arms of an obtuse configuration. Each crank presents an orifice, located at the middle part of the crank's vertex, that when connecting to the spindle allows them to integrate from left to right. These orifices function is to work as attachment and leaning point for the crank arms. Each crank arm opposite to the pedal receptor presents another orifice that will integrate through another element to the spindle, which will exercise the effect of traction, thus the function of the crank.

Abstract: In a ceramic heater, a resistive heating element formed from a ceramic electrically conductive material is embedded in a ceramic body. The ceramic electrically conductive material has a structure in which particles of an electrically conductive ceramic phase are dispersed in a matrix ceramic phase, and contains the ceramic electrically conductive phase in a range of from 30 to 80% by weight. When a virtual circle is drawn with a certain radius in a section of said ceramic electrically conductive material, if the percentage of the area of said electrically conductive ceramic phase particles in the virtual circle is not smaller than 60%, a region enclosed by the circle is defined as an uneven distribution portion of said electrically conductive ceramic phase particles and the maximum diameter of the uneven distribution portion is set to be not larger than 5 .mu.m.

Abstract: A braid singeing clamp for singeing the end of a braid to prevent said braid from coming undone. The braid singeing clamp comprises a pair of pivotally connected clamping surfaces having grips on one end and heating elements on the opposite end. The heating surfaces are attached to each clamping element by a set of rings which are situated on the top portion of each surface. The rings slide over a tube portion of each clamping element, and secure the heating surfaces to the clamp. Alternatively, the heating surfaces may snap into sockets positioned on the tube portion of each clamping element. The heating elements are shaped to envelope the lower portion of the braid and provide heat only to the braid end.

Abstract: An electrically heated transparency which has a glass plate, a pair of bus bars provided at upper and lower sides of the glass plate and a transparent electric conductive film disposed on a surface of the glass plate so as to connect the pair of bus bars. The upper side bus bar has two upper bus bar elements. The upper bus bar elements are respectively extended to current feeding portions and have free ends at opposite positions in an upper side portion of the glass plate and near both sides of the transparent electric conductive film. The upper bus bar elements have parallel portions, in a connecting portion for connecting the upper side bus bar to the transparent electric conductive film, so as to oppose to each other with a space, and the upper bus bar elements are in contact with the transparent electric conductive film at the parallel portions.

Abstract: A forced convection furnace gas plenum having a mixing chamber to provide a heated gas of a more uniform temperature is presented. The plenum includes a heating element for heating gas and an orifice plate for metering the flow of heated gas to product within the furnace. A heater plate having larger apertures than those of the orifice plate is disposed between the heating element and the orifice plate. The apertures in the heater plate are sized to allow heated gas to pass therethrough into the mixing chamber, located between the heater plate and the orifice plate, with minimal pressure loss. The heated gas mixes in the mixing chamber, causing the temperature to become more uniform before the gas exits through the orifice plate to impinge on the product.

Abstract: An apparatus for automatically a pair of welding tubular components made of a thermally fusible resin by abutting them to each other, includes a pair of clamp units for holding the pair of tubular components, an abut portion on which the end face of each of the tubular component abuts when the pair of the tubular components are held by the pair of clamp units, a cutting unit for cutting respective end faces of the pair of the tubular components held by the pair of the clamp units so that the cut end faces are normal to the axis of the pipes, and a fusing unit for fusing opposing end faces of the pipes which are cut by the cutting unit, to an equal fusing depth. The cutting unit, the abut portion and the fusing unit are spacedly disposed on a rotary disc in an angular moving direction. One of the tubular components is moved toward the other of the tubular components which are fused by said fusing unit for welding them to each other.

Abstract: A film-like heater which has a graphite film made of a polymer film baked at a temperature higher than 2,000 .degree. C. and having a good thermal conductivity, a good flexibility and a good resistance to high temperature, so that it is applicable to a thin face heat-retaining or heating means having various designs such as a seat heater fittable to a body shape, a vapor deposition boat operable at a high temperature and a compact heating device or apparatus.

Abstract: A thermally insulating jacket under reversible vacuum, having an inner wall, an outer wall and an hollow space between these walls. The hollow space is in fluid communication with an outer housing containing a reversible non-evaporable hydrogen getter loaded with hydrogen. The reversible hydrogen getter has a certain hydrogen equilibrium pressure. The hollow space contains a non-evaporable promoter getter having a certain hydrogen equilibrium pressure. These jackets can be employed with heat accumulators, batteries, cryogenic vessels, cryogenic pipes, catalytic silencers and solar panels.

Abstract: A heating chamber for maintaining processed foods warm for extended periods while not sacrificing food quality or causing a secular change in the chamber's insulating member.

Abstract: A cartridge heater assembly to be swaged has a sheath with head and slug ends. A resistance heater unit in the sheath includes a flat rectangular core, a resistance wire winding on the core, and first and second core covers, one on each side. Each end of the resistance wire extends from the core through a hole in the adjacent core cover and to the head end of the sheath. Crushable heater unit centralizers at each end of the sheath hold the resistance heater unit. Leads are connected to the ends of the heater wire and the connections are enclosed in the centralizer. A plastic bushing closes the head end of the sheath and a slug closes the slug end of the sheath. The heater assembly is filled with an insulating material and swaged, crushing the centralizers.

Abstract: A system for maintaining desired temperature control of a specimen observed under a microscope includes an objective lens heater comprising a heating element placed within a heat sleeve, which surrounds the objective lens casing. When an electric current is applied, the heating element is activated, heating the objective lens to a desired temperature. The heated objective lens may be used in combination with a stage heater to ensure that the specimen will be maintained at a desired physiological temperature during observation.

Abstract: Acid digestion of liquid specimens which are to be subsequently analyzed by spectroscopy to identify recoverable or dissolved metals is effected in an open digestion operation in apparatus which includes inclined, vertically spaced saddles on which specimen containing glass jars are supported in corresponding inclined orientation so that a surface of the specimens in the jars is overlaid by the wall of the jar and the jar opening is remote from the specimen, this arrangement allowing that the vessel wall facing the specimen surface, during digestion, will serve as a condensing surface for specimen vapors evolved incident digestion.

Abstract: A tire warm-up wrap used for pre-heating tires of motor racing cars and motor cycles immediately before the start of a race is provided with a heat generating narrow fabric woven from a warp containing (i) an electrically heat-generating flexible yarn made of a mixed yarn composed of discontinuous conductive metal fibers and non-conductive fibers, and (ii) a non-conductive fiber yarn, and a weft composed of a non-conductive fiber yarn. The fabric has in both of the lengthwise end portions thereof wefts composed of conductive metal wires which are divided into a plurality of metal wire electrodes. The electrically heat-generating flexible yarns of the warp and the divided metal wire electrodes form together a series circuit extending forward and backward alternately along the length of the fabric between the divided metal wire electrodes in both the end portions thereof.

Abstract: Electric hotplate (1) comprising a temperature sensor (3) which includes a temperature-sensitive surface (4) projecting with respect to the surface of the hotplate intended to receive a cooking receptacle. The sensor (3) comprises in combination a device (5) for measuring the temperature of the temperature-sensitive surface (4); a detector (7, 8) for detecting the presence of the receptacle on said hotplate; and a fuse (6, 23) comprising a thermal safety element in contact with the temperature-sensitive surface (4) for cutting off the electrical supply to the hotplate (1) when the temperature reaches a predetermined maximum value.

Abstract: A method and apparatus for automatically and dynamically tuning individual heater segments of a multi-zone furnace which allows simultaneous minimization of temperature gradients within the furnace and prevention of premature aging and failure of the segments by controlling the relative temperatures thereof and equalization of the contributions of the segments to the heating of the furnace. Furnace and heater temperatures are monitored and furnace temperatures are used to develop set point biases for automatic control of heater segment temperatures. Some segments are also controlled as a function of power applied to other segments. Temperatures sensed within the furnace are combined such as by averaging to effectively provide virtual sensors in locations where sensors cannot otherwise be practically provided.

Abstract: A direct-current electric arc furnace has an at least one electric arc electrode switched as a cathode and a bottom electrode switched as an anode. The bottom electrode includes an electrically conductive bottom plate, a first ramming mass consisting of electrically non-conducting refractory material centrally located atop the electrically conductive bottom plate, and a second ramming mass consisting of electrically non-conducting refractory material, the second ramming mass being located atop and about a periphery of the electrically conductive bottom plate.A plurality of concentrically arranged electrode segments are positioned between the first and second ramming masses, each of the plurality of electrode segments including an electrically non-conducting ramming mass configured to support a plurality of vertically arranged and electrically conducting segment conductors.

Abstract: A conical rapid thermal processing system includes a conical thermal radiation reflector and a plurality of elongated radiant heating sources within the conical thermal radiation reflector. The elongated radiant heating sources pass through an imaginary conical surface within the conical thermal radiation reflector. A wafer holder within the imaginary conical surface holds the wafer face transverse to the common axis of the conical reflector and the conically arranged radiant heating lamps. The conical thermal radiation reflector and conically arranged lamps provide uniform radiant heating across the face of a wafer without significantly degrading coupling efficiency.

Abstract: In a food service system, prepared meals including chilled foods are assembled in individual meal trays (10) and held in the trays for a period prior to regeneration to prepare the food for heating. A control system of a rethermalizing trolley (12), which accommodates a large number of trays, can discern for itself which dishes (30) in the trays need heating and which are to remain cool. Dishes for hot and cold foods have white and black markings respectively, which results in reflected infra-red signals from sensors (42, 44) of the control system to be of discernably different strengths, so identifying the hot food dishes. Dish temperature is continually monitored by the control system by means of thermal contact with thermistors (46), which enables the system to oversee food temperatures both prior to and during regeneration.

Abstract: In the continuous carburization furnace in which the temperature of the heaters can be controlled individually at every carburization processing position; carburization reference data at each carburization processing position is read; a temperature and carbon potential at each position at least during carburization and diffusion processes is detected; a carburized quantity of the processed member at each position is calculated with reference to the detected temperature and carbon potential; a carburization history is calculated by integrating the carburized quantity at each position of the carburization processed member, and a carburizing condition at a next carburization processing position is determined depending on a difference between the carburization history at the time of terminating the carburization process at each position of the carburization processed member and the carburization reference data at each position.

Abstract: A method of heating a portion of a continuous material strip includes heating the web through use of one or more IR lamps provided with radiation-concentrating reflectors. The IR lamps are directed towards a restricted area on the web to thereby heat the thermoplastic surface in the restricted area to a temperature that corresponds to the melting temperature of the thermoplastic. The web can be provided with a color strip in the restricted area, whereby the color strip absorbs the heat from the IR lamps.